On Jan. 19, the U. S. State Department updated its Mexico travel warning, but the update once again avoids most of the country's tourism destinations. The warnings were directed mostly to border regions and areas along major drug-trafficking routes. There were no advisory for Mexico City or the states of Guanajuato, Quintana Roo, and the Yucatan. Other than Mexico City, these are the areas where the major tourist resorts are located.
As reported in Travel Weekly by the president of Delta Vacations, John Caldwell, “Delta Vacations has not seen any recent increase in concern from our customers about security in Mexico”. He indicated that the majority of their business was in Puerto Vallarta and just north of PVR in the Riviera Nayarit. That is the area on the Pacific coast south of California.
Last year Mexico ranked Number 9 among the world's 10 most visited countries. More than 32 million tourists visited Mexico in 2015 which is an increase of nearly 10% from 2014.
The editor of Travel Weekly, Arnie Weissmann, recently interviewed Mexico's Secretary of Tourism, Enrique de la Madrid, and he indicated in the interview that the safety concerns are understandable, but those concerns have lessened considerably in the past few years. He had an interesting comment regarding relations with tourist, especially those from the United States. He said, “Sometimes between Mexico and the U.S,, there are misconceptions, but tourism is the best ambassador, the best way to get closer. We have great oceans, deserts and mountains, but our biggest assets are Mexicans interacting with visitors. This is a service industry, and Mexicans are very open, candid and friendly.” He said, “I heard recently an expression I really liked; that instead of just moving the umbrella on the beach, we move the sun.”
Another recent concern for Mexico as well as some of the Caribbean islands is the threat to tourist from the Zika virus. Mexico's tourism agency said the Zika virus does not pose a threat to tourists in their country, citing the low number of cases, 34, in the country in rural areas far from popular tourist destinations. Mexico tourism also said major tourist destinations and businesses have mosquito-eradication practices in place and that the country is prepared to contain the virus.
So far, we have been promoting and selling the Mexico tourist product without reserve. It's the fastest way to get to a destination from Texas, about 2 hours and 15 minutes, so you get to spend more time on the beach or doing your thing when you go on vacation. And, the prices recently have been very good, so we encourage all our friends to give the experienced travel counselors a call at 698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040, or stop in for an excited visit to talk “VACATION”. Now is the time to plan for that summer away.
